China’s Market Contraction Frustrates Buyers

Trading volume in Chinese art dropped 25% in final quarter of last year, one of the repercussions was was anger and frustration among speculators:

The decline in prices and trading volume is symbolized by a true event, recounted by Kou Qin,vice-president of China Guardian Auctions. The story has a humorous ring to it, but it has had a chillingeffect on buyers and sellers.

A client of China Guardians, who had bid 10 millionyuan for a valuable bronze pot, arrived at Kou’s officethe day after the deal had been made. The client,from Shanxi province, bid for the objet d’ art alongwith several other items, backed by a large amount ofmoney loaned by a couple of friends. Sadly, he had overbid massively and had nowhere near enough capital to settle the bill for the 10 million yuan antique.He had hoped to sell the other items quickly and at a markup, to furnish himself with the funds for the pot,while making a tidy profit.

However, when he arrived at Kou’s office, he was forced to admit that he couldn’t afford the item andwanted to return it. Having lost most of his initial capital, the man had fallen out with his friends, whohad, in turn, extracted a brutal revenge. He lifted his shirt a little to show Kou the marks and wounds left bythe severe beating he had endured from his- now furious friends.